DeFining Southeast Asia — The Role of Decentralized Finance in the Region

The following is a full text of a keynote address delivered at the opening of BlockBali 2020 on December 1, 2020 and explores the impact of decentralized finance on the fortunes of the emerging region.

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening. Wherever you’re tuning in to us from, thank you for joining us for BlockBali.

My name is Patrick Tan, and I’m the CEO and General Counsel for Novum Alpha, a quantitative digital asset trading firm, as well as General Counsel for the Novum Group, a diversified cryptocurrency and blockchain services companies with interests in media, software development, trading and services.

It is my privilege to welcome you to BlockBali 2020 and Novum Alpha is proud to be the gold partner for this year’s event.

But what a difference a year has made!

As you can see from where I am seated, I am unfortunately not in Bali, one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Like many of you, I’m tuning in from my home office because of the coronavirus…